Our Feathered Friend

This weekend found me visiting the BIG state of Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, even the ostriches. (wink-wink)

Friday morning found my friend and I at the front gates to a wild animal park that you drive through. We were given a bag of pellets to feed to the animals we might encounter, but little did we know about the drama that was to come. There we were meandering through the park, feeding the occasional wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and other worldly wildlife when we finally came upon the "bird of prey" zone. You might say an ostrich is no bird of prey, but you my friend did not see the devilish look in his eye. As we pulled to a stop, we noticed the ostrich was starting to walk our way. I for one do NOT trust ostriches and told my friend to quickly roll his window up. I looked away for just a second but when I turned back around the window was only halfway rolled up and BAM---there he was. The ostrich was staring at us through the remaining open window. (Almost as if he was daring us to throw a pellet at him.) The next thing I know, the ostrich sends his head diving into the truck and we just about lost it. I couldn't tell if he was diving for my friends leg or if he was going for the steering wheel. He backed his head out just long enough for my friend to get his finger back on the window button and roll it up all the way. I'm still surprised my friend didn't wet his pants. Pahhh! That ostrich had one thing on his mind and we were definitely on the "pecking" list.

I couldn't help but laugh at the near heart attack my friend went through but the favor was soon returned. After recovering from the ostrich scare I was gazing out my window when all of a sudden the truck lurched forward a few times and then came to a dead stop, inches from the SUV in front of us. That definitely got my heart racing as I thought for sure that we were going to run into them, and as I was about to turn and clobber my friend who was behind the wheel (thinking he had done that on purpose), I realized that he was just as shocked as I. The truck is manual and apparently something did or didn't happen with the clutch and it killed the engine. I have all the faith in my friend's driving skills but in my eyes that's just another reason why I DON'T want to learn how to drive a stick shift. Tahhhhh!

Anywho, other than the near ostrich attack and the near rear-ender, we both survived our accelerated heart rates and enjoyed the rest of the ride. He had a buffalo eating out of his hand and I a zebra. And to top it off we even saw a wildebeest picking his nose---with his tongue. Talk about talent!